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State trooper dies after patrol car hit by tractor-trailer on Thruway

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Emergency Personnel are on the scene Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2013 where a state police cruiser was hit by a tractor trailer on the New York Thruway in Amsterdam, N.Y. New York State Police say the trooper, who is in critical condition, was inside his cruiser while it was parked behind a car pulled off the highway's right shoulder at Exit 27 around 8:25 p.m. Monday. Troopers say a tractor-trailer traveling in the right lane left the highway and hit both vehicles, pinning the other motorist's vehicle under the truck.
(The Associated Press/Albany Times-Union)

AMSTERDAM, N.Y. -- New York state police say a trooper has died from injuries suffered when his patrol vehicle was hit by a tractor-trailer on the Thruway in the Mohawk Valley.

State police Superintendent Joseph D'Amico says Trooper David Cunniff was inside his cruiser while it was parked behind a car he had pulled over for speeding around 8:20 p.m. Monday near Exit 27 in Amsterdam. D'Amico says the truck rear-ended Cunniff's cruiser and also hit the second vehicle, ending up on top of it.

D'Amico says the 35-year-old Cunniff died Tuesday at an Albany hospital. The car driver is in fair condition. The truck driver wasn't injured. D'Amico says neither alcohol nor the weather played a role in the crash.

The trooper was a nine-year veteran. He was married with two children.